Machine for processing billet or bar stock

ABSTRACT

A billet grinder comprises a grinding head and a roller mechanism including horizontal table rollers for reciprocably driving a billet into and out of the head. The mechanism further includes co-operating sets of rollers on each side of the head for laterally gripping the billet at least one roll in each set and a number of rolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having horizontally inclined surfaces to provide edge support on the leading and trailing edges of the billet.

[ 51 Dec. 9, 1975 2,925.6 2/l960 Klbble.....

[ MACHINE FOR PROCESSING BILLET OR 3.570.i86 3mm Kulwlcki. 3.654.738 4/1912 Sternnl.... 3,676,959

BAR STOCK [75] Inventors: Robert Crownehaw: Ronald Jubb,

7/l972 Form-L... 1 H1973 Yasunaga both of Sheffield. England [73] Assignee: British Steel 3.858.36I l/l975 Bchne.....

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 849,638

Corporation, London, England 9/l960 United Kingdom................-.... 51/4 [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1974 Primary Examiner-Donald 0. Kelly [2|] Appl. No.: 508,730

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bacon 84 Thomas ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Date Oct. l7, i973 United Kingdom............... 48349/73 r e cm Pn hfm o o cmlfr mo mm .rl doamo m a p n dr w mp n e .m HS n S m e nw ve h mo imnnfld inflomma w I re e m bmmm fluw mm o nld wm m nmmc umn. um w zm wm umhm u a I I teen c wnummnmm u" n mnm flommw cuahcec Adan Mm .mnmm mh IV h [d flm m kn d flk m amwmnm "m mh whoth m wmwnh m Am mkummz R mm M43nu UB $4 5 .24! 3 a n-4n S R F A M IHSO .7351. m 5 ll. an: mu 3 .I mB C .10 m l l I umnz MA 1.; 2 m d no Mm m I. 9 N ma n u QM .H. e Uhn I- I. 2 8 6 $55 5 [II .I

the leading and trailing edges of the billet.

l.060.759 .Sll9l3 l-leldmlnn $ll78 X 2.453.339 H948 $l/78 X 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 9 I i l i 1 r I 1 J CONSOLE CONTROL U.S. Pate nt Dec. 9 1975 Sheet 2 of? 3,924,358

Pz ltent Dec. 9 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,924,358

MACiliNE FOR PROCESSING BILLET R BAR STOCK relates to a machine for selectively grinding metal billets or bars in order to remove surface defects in them.

Hitherto such defects have been removed by manually manipulating a swing grinder (a suspended counterbalanced grinding head) over the surface of a sta tionary billet. the operator bringing the grinding head in contact with selected areas to be ground. by hand grinding or by pneumatic ehippers mainly on blooms. Alternatively. arrangements exist for grinding the whole surface of the billet by clamping it to a car- ;iag: which is reciprocably movable past the grinding Swing grinders and the other hand-held implements suffer from the obvious disadvantage that they are manually operated and the other grinding technique can handle only a limited range of billet lengths on the carriage. is costly in power and metal consumption and is time-consuming since it is not selective.

in accordance with this invention there is provided a machine for processing billet or bar stock. comprising a machine head. a roller mechanism including horizontal table rollers for driving stock into and out of the head. and control means for controlling the rate of drive of the stock and the operation of the machine head, the roller mechanism further including co-operating sets of rolls on each side of the head for laterally gripping the stock. at least one roll in each set and a plurality of other rolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having horizontally inclined surfaces to provide edge support for the stock on its leading and trailing ends in dependence on the stock shape.

Preferably. the table rollers are operable to reciprocably drive the stock into and out of the head.

The provision of the inclined surface rollers ensures edge support to prevent bent stock from executing a sharp undulating motion along its path of travel such as would be caused. for example. by the leading edge striking the upstream table rollers in succession or its trailing end being successively dropped off the trailing roller.

The co-operating sets of rolls may include plain (cylindrical) vertically-disposed pressure rollers on one side of the stock and driving rollers on the opposite side incorporating a vertical shaft portion upstanding from the horizontally inclined surface. i.c.. in the manner of a top hat. The other rollers in alignment with the latter may also be of top hat form but prefe'rably they are simply disc-like structures; unlike the first rollers mentioned. these other rollers are not driven.

The control means is operative to drive the table rollers so as to advance the stock towards. e.g.. the grinding head, and is operator-controlled to cause the co-operatlng rollers to grip the stock and hold it firmly adjacent the head. the movements of the grinding head also being overned b the control means whereby the grinding w eel may e positioned on. and laterally traverse. a marked surface defect whilst the stock is driven forward. A similar sequence may be controlled and it maybe discharged on to a side gantry or a pocket on the remote side of the head (output station). Preferably. the discharge of stock at the output station is effected from the control means. an appropriate set of arms being activated at the output station for this purpose.

ln order that the invention may be fully understoodone embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a schematic plan view of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section adjacent the grinding head showing details of some olthe rollers with various parts omitted for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a section through A A in FIG. 1 showing billets in position; and

FIG. 4 is a section through B B.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2. the machine com prises a horizontal roller table having a plurality of driven spindle rollers 1 extending between an input station including a gantry 2 for supporting billets and an output station including a similar gantry 3 to one side and a pocket 4 on the other. A grinding head 5 is provided between the input and output stations.

Mounted in line with one another on the far side of the table is a plurality of vertically disposed rollers 7. 8. The rollers 7 are in the form of discs having inclined surfaces whilst the rollers 8 have a similar inclined disc portion surmounted by a shaft or body portion so as to define a' top hat structure. All the disc rollers 7 lie between the axes of adjacent spindle rollers i and are -idlers. The top hat rollers 8. of which there are four,

are driven. They are arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the grinding head and co-operating with each pair are two pivotal idler pressure rollers 9 the function of which will be described below.

Extending alongside the output station are shafts l0 and 11 on which are secured a number of arms l2. l3 extending inwardly between the spindle rollers l and normally lying beneath the path oi travel of the stock. Each of the shafts is independently pivotally movable through control mechanisms 14 and i5. so that the appropriate arms lift the stock off the roller table for discharge to the gantry 3 or the pocket 4.

The grinding head (FiG. 3) is reciprocably movable horizontally on a supporting carriage i7 and the grinding wheel itselfti8) is vertically movable on a slide l9 which also carries the driving motor 20. The horizontal and vertical movements are effected in a plane normal to the direction of travel of the stock.

More particularly. referring now to all the Figures. billets 21 which have been marked where surface defects occur are stacked on the gantry 2 and are manually discharged on to the spindle rollers i at the input station. These rollers are driven from a control console and the billet is advanced towards the grinding head.

a the edge of the billet overlying the disc rollers 7 by on a return (reciprocal) drive depending on the degree which shock wave-like or undulating motion of the billet is avoided. the inclined surface gently taking up the leading edge of the billet as it travels forward.

When the leading end of the billet enters the head the pressure rollers 9 are operated by control means so that the billet is gripped between these rollers and the cooperating top hat rollers 8. the billet (22) riding up over the inclined portion and being firmly gripped by its sides. The leading pressure roller 9 is operated in advance of the 'upstream roller so that the billet is firmly held at all times alongside the head.

As a marked defect approaches. the head is activated by the control console and the grinding wheel i8 is brought into contact with the billet surface and laternily traversed across the billet face over the defective area.

Any other marked defects in the billet may be dealt wllii in a similar manner. the speed of the billet travel being varied for this purpose i.e.. the billet will travel faster in the dwell period between defects as compared with its speed whilst grinding is in progress. Two

discrete speeds can in fact be employed. one during tiwell travel periods and another slower one during grinding.

Just as is the case at the input station. the inclined surfaces on the disc rollers 7 gently take up the leading faces of the billet at the remote end of the machine.

Any defects not dealt with by the first pass. e.g.. because of the depth of the fault. may be dealt with by a reverse pass. the roller drives being reversed for this purpose. Any other sides of the billet having defects are then dealt with in the same manner.

when the billet finally settles at the output station. the control mechanisms [4 or are operated from the console so that the billet is discharged by the arms l2. iii to the gantry 3 or the pocket 4 respectively. in FIG. 4 the arms l3 are shown lifted for discharge in this manner. r y Y The gantry is suitable'for magnetic removal facilities whereas the pocket is suitable for chain slings..Aiternativciy one of these receptacles could be used for'rejccts. I

The drive rollers. the pressure rollers and the discharge arms may be hydraulically driven under control from the operator's console. The grinding head may also be controlled. hydraulically or hydraulic and pneumatic means may be used for the horizontal and vertical drives respectively. Pneumatic means are particuhorizontally disposed table rollers for driving said stock into and out of engagement with the head. and t Y co-operating sets of rolls on each side of the head for laterally gripping the stock. at least one roll in each set and a plurality of otherrolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having surfaces inclined to the horizontal plane to provide edgesupport for the stock on its leading and trailing ends in dependence on the stock shape. and

control means for controlling both the rate of drive of the stock along the roller mechanism and the operation of the machine head.

2. A machine according to claim I. in which the drive for the table rollers is reversible.

3. A machine according to claim 2. in which the eo-operating sets of rolls include cylindrically vertically disposed pressure rolls on one side of the stock. and

driving rolls on the opposite side incorporating a cylindrical. vertical shaft portion upstanding from the said inclined surface.

4. A machine according to claim 3. in which the said other rolls having said inclined surfaces are disc-like idler structures.

5. A machine according to claim 3. comprising a pivotal arm on which each pressure roll is carried.

A machine according to claim 5. in which the machine head includes a grinding wheel for laterally traversing the stock.

:7, A machine according to claim 6. comprising a first side gantry for depositing stock on the roller table at onc'end oi the machine. and

a second side gantry for receiving discharged stock from the roller table at the other end of the machine.

8. A machine for removing surface defects from billet or bar stock. comprising;

a grinding head.

a grinding wheel in said head.

a roller mechanism including a plurality of driven.

. horizontally disposed table rollers for reciprocably driving said stock into and out of engagement with the grinding head. and

co-operating sets of rolls on each side of the head for laterally gripping the stock. at least one roll in each set and a plurality ofother rolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having load bearing surfaces inclined to the horizontal plane to provide edge support for the stock on its leading and trailing ends in dependence on the stock shape, and control means for controlling both the rate of drive of the stock along the roller mechanism and lateral traversal oithe grinding wheel over the stock as the stock is advanced past the head.

9. A machine according to claim 8. in which the co-operating sets of rolls each include a cylindrical. vertically disposed pressure roll on one side of the stock. and

driving rolls on the opposite side, each of said driving rolls incorporating a cylindrical, vertical shaft portion upstanding from a load bearing surface ini i i i i 

1. A machine for processing billet or bar stock, comprising; a machine head, a roller mechanism including a plurality of driven, horizontally disposed table rollers for driving said stock into and out of engagement with the head, and co-operating sets of rolls on each side of the head for laterally gripping the stock, at least one roll in each set and a plurality of other rolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having surfaces inclined to the horizontal plane to provide edge support for the stock on its leading and trailing ends in dependence on the stock shape, and control means for controlling both the rate of drive of the stock along the roller mechanism and the operation of the machine head.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, in which the drive for the table rollers is reversible.
 3. A machine according to claim 2, in which the co-operating sets of rolls include cylindrically vertically disposed pressure rolls on one side of the stock, and driving rolls on the opposite side incorporating a cylindrical, vertical shaft portion upstanding from the said inclined surface.
 4. A machine according to claim 3, in which the said other rolls having said inclined surfaces are disc-like idler structures.
 5. A machine according to claim 3, comprising a pivotal arm on which each pressure roll is carried.
 6. A machine according to claim 5, in which the machine head includes a grinding wheel for laterally traversing the stock.
 7. A machine according to claim 6, comprising a first side gantry for depositing stock on the roller table at one end of the machine, and a second side gantry for Receiving discharged stock from the roller table at the other end of the machine.
 8. A machine for removing surface defects from billet or bar stock, comprising; a grinding head, a grinding wheel in said head, a roller mechanism including a plurality of driven, horizontally disposed table rollers for reciprocably driving said stock into and out of engagement with the grinding head, and co-operating sets of rolls on each side of the head for laterally gripping the stock, at least one roll in each set and a plurality of other rolls in the roller mechanism aligned therewith having load bearing surfaces inclined to the horizontal plane to provide edge support for the stock on its leading and trailing ends in dependence on the stock shape, and control means for controlling both the rate of drive of the stock along the roller mechanism and lateral traversal of the grinding wheel over the stock as the stock is advanced past the head.
 9. A machine according to claim 8, in which the co-operating sets of rolls each include a cylindrical, vertically disposed pressure roll on one side of the stock, and driving rolls on the opposite side, each of said driving rolls incorporating a cylindrical, vertical shaft portion upstanding from a load bearing surface inclined to the horizontal plane. 